This is one of the BEST sounding drag races you’re ever going to hear. It’s the limited edition supercharged V8 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren drag racing the naturally aspirated V8 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG. We go drag racing across the 1/4 mile from a standing start, do a rolling race and then finish things off with some quiet 1/4 mile runs.
Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG vs SLR McLaren DRAG RACE!
Historically, Germany and Britain have been in a relentless competition for centuries, but the two nations also enjoyed their fair share of cooperation – with spectacular results. Take the mid-nineties McLaren F1 as the perfect example: the original hypercar, brainchild of Gordon Murray, built by McLaren, powered by BMW. Or the unlikely spiritual successor of that cooperation, the McLaren-Mercedes SLR from two decades ago.
Granted, the two brands were joined in their common pursuit of Formula 1 successes back when the SLR broke ground, but the car stands as the only product of the two automotive giants’ combined efforts. Since its debut, it has long been surpassed by other carmakers (think Koenigsegg, Rimac, Hennessey, Bugatti, BYD – the former’s Yangwang U9 Xtreme being the fastest production car in the world as of this writing).
But that won’t chip away its legendary aura, in the same way a modern Hellcat won’t hold a candle to a 1971 Hemicuda, for example. A classic since day one, the SLR is a gem for collectors – and its market value has been a stable half-million-dollar over the past decade, according to Hagerty. Not too many of them were made – 2,157 from 2003 to 2010, so it’s understandable that they’re not regulars at dragstrips (or anywhere else, except millionaire’s garages, for that matter).
Then again, what’s the point of being one of the world’s top car nuts and owning one such gem (a Daniel Ricciardo tribute done by McLaren Special Operations division) if not lending it to a couple of friends who want nothing more than to take it to a runway and floor it? Ask Laurence Escalante, the owner of the Lee Collection in Perth, Western Australia.
The man lent his Papaya Orange example to the car experts from CarExpert for a drag race. But what to put against this phenomenal machine from the early 2000s? Another symbol of German engineering, the very first AMG automobile to bear the tuner’s badge on its own, without the Mercedes-Benz lineage: the SLS – the gullwinged speed halo car meant to step in the SLR’s tracks.
This in-house bred rivalry wasn’t born out of spite, or on the track, but rather as an exercise in liberty of choice: it’s almost as if Mercedes couldn’t decide which branch of the family tree to cut down, and simply let natural selection do its thing.
The McMerc SLR is probably the grand tourer’s grand tourer, with a hood so long, it’s nearly half the size of the car, and a front end design clearly evoking times when Messerschmitts and Spitfires were hunting each other down in the skies of Europe, some 85 years ago. Under that sleek engine bay lid lurks a 5.4-liter supercharged V8 engine, rated at 617 hp (626 PS) and 575 lb-ft (780 Nm) of torque.
Meager numbers by today’s standards, but twenty-two years ago, that was abominably powerful. Remember, the Bugatti Veyron had yet to be revealed when the McLaren Mercedes SLR was thundering down the road. And the dated technology is clearly visible in the transmission: the rear wheels are set in motion with the help of a five-speed automatic gearbox. That’s downright boring by 2026 standards, but it was the only one capable of handling the torque safely back at the dawn of the millennium.
Against it, the CarExperts have lined up the newer school of thought, the AMG SLS. While it lacks the carbon fiber monocoque and side exit exhausts of the sport Leicht Rennsport (that’s what the SLR stands for – Sport Light Race), the SLS (Super Leicht Sport – that’s self explanatory) sports – I had to say it! – the iconic gullwing doors made famous by the now most expensive car in history, the 300 SL from the fifties.
The SLS AMG saw a much larger production run compared to the SLR, with 11,473 units produced in a shorter timespan between 2010 and 2014. This includes both the coupe and roadster versions, along with the track-focused Black Series and the final edition variants.
However, gullwing doors don’t help a car go fast, but a massive 6.2-liter naturally aspirated V8 might even the odds. In its factory trim, the motor is good for 566 horsepower (572 PS) and 479 lb-ft (650 Nm) of torque, but the example gunning down the airfield strip in the video below is rated at 622 hp (631 PS) and 479 lb-ft (650 Nm) of torque. Although down on torque, it uses a much faster seven-speed dual-clutch transaxle for shifts.
Despite the younger SLS AMG showing a slight horsepower advantage on the spec sheet, the real-world testing tells a different story. In every single race, be it a standing start or a rolling start, the SLR McLaren came out on top. The supercharged torque of the older car proved that the R in its name wasn’t just for show. Even armed with the more modern gear-shifting wizardry and launch control, the SLS AMG could not find a way past the charging ancestor.
The performance data captured during this less-than-optimal speed trial session speaks for itself. The McLaren SLR recorded a zero-to-100 kph (62 mph) time of 4.61 seconds and crossed the quarter-mile mark in 12.07 seconds. Trap speed? 124.94 mph (201.07 kph). Its mid-range acceleration was particularly impressive, with an 80 to 120 kph (50 to 75 mph) sprint taking only 1.86 seconds. The SLR also reached 200 kph (124 mph) from a standstill in 11.99 seconds.
That last bit was, surprisingly, not achieved by the younger (and upgraded) SLS AMG. Although the zero-to-100 kph (62 mph) sprint took exactly 4.61 seconds, just like the SLR’s, it ran out of breath earlier. The AMG finished the quarter mile in 12.16 seconds at a top speed of 120.21 mph (193.46 kph). Its 80 to 120 kph (50 to 75 mph) rolling time was 2.22 seconds, a consistent gap to the supercharged rival. The naturally aspirated engine simply could not counter the tidal wave of torque raised by the SLR.
